THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The exodus of students from state-run schools to unaided CBSE/ICSE schools has been a steady trend for long. In the state’s higher secondary sector, though, the trend is reversing.
According to statistics obtained from the Education Department through RTI, more than half the number of students clearing the CBSE and ICSE Class X board examinations are joining state Higher Secondary course.
In 2016-17, 41,105 students - out of the nearly 80,000 students who cleared the CBSE/ ICSE Class X exams from Kerala - joined the state higher secondary schools. Ernakulam district registered the highest, 5,138, and Wayanad the lowest - 734. Supporters of state-run schools attribute the influx to the improved quality of the Higher Secondary course which, they claim, is now on a par with the national syllabi.
“There has been a large-scale migration of students from national boards to the state board over the past few years,” S Manoj, general secretary, Aided Higher Secondary Teachers Association (AHSTA), told Express.
“In the state Higher Secondary course, NCERT textbooks are followed at least for Science subjects.
This makes the transition for CBSE students easier. It also goes to show unnecessary tinkering with the NCERT textbooks, which are drafted with a clear national outlook, will only prove detrimental to the students preparing for competitive national examinations such as NEET. The SCERT should desist from tweaking current syllabus.”
Unaided school managements do not seem to agree with the “quality” argument. On the other hand, they cite the liberal awarding of marks in the Plus One and Plus Two examinations as the reason for the exodus from the CBSE and ICSE schools.
According to Kerala CBSE School Managements Association general secretary Indira Rajan, the state Higher Secondary board also awards grace marks under various categories in addition to lenient evaluation.
“The lavish awarding of marks lures many students aspiring for entrance examinations where the marks obtained in the Plus Two course are taken into consideration,” she said.
The CBSE Schools’ Association has also taken the matter up with the Union HRD Ministry as to how their students are at a disadvantage due to the liberal awarding of marks by the state board.
“With the reintroduction of national level examinations such as NEET, our schools have now started retaining the cream of students.
“We are hopeful, in the coming years, more and more CBSE students will prefer to stick on with the same Board,” Indira said.